About the Sony XS-163ES
An audiophile experience in the car
An audiophile experience in the car
Sony has a worldwide reputation for making great audio easy to access. So it's always exciting when they decide to make a product that's focused on premium car audio, like their flagship XS-163ES 6-1/2" -way component speaker system. I carved out some time to experience their Mobile ES Series for myself at Crutchfield HQ's Car Audio Listening Lab. Using Hi-res Audio streaming service Qobuz, I listened to some of my favorite albums from female vocalists like Bonnie Raitt and Kate Bush, soundscapes from Daft Punk, and hip-hop from MF DOOM. It's no exaggeration to say that with every track, I heard texture and detail I'd never heard before. All of those small revelations added up to a bigger, deeper feeling — I felt closer to the music — like I was "there." If you're hungering for an audiophile-grade experience in the car, these Hi-res Audio-compatible speakers from Sony are a wonderful way to start.
Specialized woofer
Sony builds the woofer cones of this 6-1/2" component speaker system from a specialized, mica-reinforced cellular aramid fiber. Developed in-house, this lightweight, rigid material minimizes distortion and enhances overall low-frequency response. Sony's unique, notch-edge surround helps with responsiveness and shrugging off wear and tear over the life of the speaker
Compact midrange driver
Midrange drivers can be the most difficult speakers to install. Sony uses a powerful neodymium magnet for premium performance in a shallower basket that betters your odds of an easy fit in existing factory locations, or if need be, custom locations.
Audiophile tweeter
The system's synthetic fabric dome component tweeter delivers frequencies up to 40,000 Hz that, even though they are above the range of human hearing, reveal more texture and detail in your high-resolution audio files and add more realism and atmosphere to instruments and vocals.
Premium crossover networks
Sony includes impressive crossovers that help the included speakers do their very best work. Low-resistance film capacitors help the tweeters achieve clarity in the high range. Additionally, Sony builds exciting tools like gain control and the ability to bi-amp the included components.
The sum of its parts
Sony's meticulous approach to stamping out distortion wherever it might lurk continues with nearly every other facet of this system. The structure of the woofer's five-beam frame helps the dispersion of unwanted resonance and the speaker's integrated dynamic air diffuser promotes essential cooling when the going gets hot. That means you can feed the Mobile ES Series component system plenty of power from an aftermarket amp and always count on immersive, natural sound.
Product highlights:
- component speaker system includes 2 woofers, 2 midrange drivers, 2 tweeters, and 2 crossovers
- 6-1/2" Mica Reinforced Cellular aramid fiber woofer
- 3-1/2" midrange driver
- 1" synthetic fiber dome tweeter
- handles up to 90 watts RMS (270 watts peak power)
- frequency response: 40-40,000 Hz
- sensitivity: 89 dB
- woofer top-mount depth: 2-3/16"
- warranty: 3 years
- Our 60-day money-back guarantee
- MFR # XS163ES
What's in the box:
- 2 Woofers
- 2 Woofer grilles
- 2 Midrange
- 2 Crossovers
- 2 Tweeters
- 2 Surface mount tweeter housings
- 2 Angled surface mount tweeter housings
- 2 Adhesive backed surface mount pads
- Sixteen 1-1/8" Screws
- Two M4x5mm Flat head machine screws
- 2 Crossover input jumpers
- Installation instructions (English/ French/ Spanish/ German/ Italian/ 20 other languages)
- Warranty information
- Woofer template on the box
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More details on the Sony XS-163ES
Features & specs
| General | ||
|---|---|---|
| Speaker Size | 6 1/2 | |
| Design | 3-way | |
| Tweeter Design | Dome | |
| Impedance (Ohms) | 4 | |
| Tweeter Composition | Synthetic Fabric | |
| Woofer Composition | Mica Reinforced Cellular Arami | |
| Woofer Surround | Rubber | |
| Parts Warranty | 3 Years | |
| Labor Warranty | 3 Years | |
| Specifications | ||
| Sensitivity (1W at 1 meter) | 89 | |
| Sensitivity at 2.83 volts | N/A | |
| Frequency Response | 40 - 40k Hz | |
| Minimum RMS Wattage | --- | |
| Maximum RMS Wattage | 90 | |
| Peak Power Handling (Watts) | 270 | |
| Top-mount Depth (Inches) | 2 3/16 | |
| Bottom-mount Depth (Inches) | 2 1/2 | |
| Cutout Diameter or Length (inches) | 5 | |
| Mounting Height (Inches) | 0.484 | |
Product Research
Features
Mounting: The woofers can be easily mounted in a variety of 6¾" applications. Given the required cutout, they will also fit into the opening for a typical 6½" speaker (approximately 5" diameter cutout) but the screw hole pattern is larger than a standard 6½", so new holes would have to be drilled. Please enter your vehicle information to confirm fit.
Phase Plug: The bullet-shaped phase plug in the center of each woofer and midrange ensures a smooth, flat off-axis frequency response by preventing the higher frequency sound waves emanating from one side of the cone from interfering with sound waves from the other side of the cone.
Tweeter Mounting: Flat and angled surface mount housings are included for tweeter mounting. In either case the tweeter is secured to the housing using the included M4 machine screws. The tweeters can also be flush mounted, but no bracket is included. Often the tweeters can be bolted to the factory brackets using the same M4 machine screws, or a custom bracket can be created using something like our Universal Back-Strap.
Tweeter Dimensions:
| Frame Width | Frame Length | Cutout Diameter | Mounting Height | Mounting Depth | |
| Flush Mount | 2.418" | 2.418" | 2.098" | 0.125" | 0.875" |
| Flat Surface Mount | 2.57" | 2.57" | N/A | 1.07" | Screw Depth |
| Angled Surface Mount | 2.575" | 2.875" | N/A | 1.4" | Screw Depth |
Crossovers: Each crossover has high-pass, low-pass, and band-pass outputs with 1 kHz and 7.5 kHz crossover points. A switch inside each crossover allows you to set the tweeter output level according to your system requirements and personal preference; choose -3 dB, 0 dB (factory setting), or +3dB. (A 2mm hex key is required to remove the crossovers' tops, not included.) The inputs and outputs are screw terminals; they will accommodate bare wire or spade connectors up to 0.315" wide. There are two mounting holes in the base of each crossover.
Bi-amp Inputs: The 3-way crossovers have separate inputs for the woofer and midrange/tweeter; this lets you drive the system with dedicated power for those separate speaker elements, instead of sharing power. If the system is powered using only two amplifier channels, the woofer and midrange/tweeter inputs should be shorted together using the included jumpers.
Crossover Dimensions:
- Length: 6-1/8"
- Width: 4"
- Height: 1-1/2"
Wiring: No wire is included with these speakers, so it will need to be ordered separately. The woofers, midrange and tweeters have male quick-slide terminals. The woofer and midrange terminals are 0.205" wide (positive) and 0.110" wide (negative), and both tweeter terminals are 0.110" wide.
Specification Note: Sony's rated power spec for the XS-163ES is 60 watts (derived using IEC 60268-5 standards). In the manual they also list the CTA 2031 compliant RMS power as 90 watts. We've adopted the 90 watt RMS rating because CTA 2031 is the more common rating system.
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Sharp and clear sound. When you push them with strong amp the performance is audiophile grade. I do not use the original head unit or jbl amp in my Tundra. I bypassed the whole OEM system and installed mine with 12 channels and AudioControl equipment.
Bashar from Rochester, MN